Summers of Fear

by Robert Benedetti

Via UNLV Website

More and more children were dying in the polio epidemics of the 1950’s. Jonas Salk worked night and day to create an effective vaccine using a method that defied conventional wisdom, and it was delivered to millions by the March of Dimes, the largest peacetime mobilization in American history. By 1953 the Salk vaccine had reduced polio deaths by 80%, but the storm of controversy it caused left Salk's reputation in tatters. This new original play chronicles a thrilling episode of American medical history that touched many of you directly.